"Go for the soft targets Iran."
I'm curious, neverfail. Precisely what are these "soft targets" Iran should attack?

The oil loading facilities on the Arabic shoreline of the Persian Gulf, for one thing.

What would be Iran's objective in attacking those facilities?

Do you mean after they have sunk one or two oil tankers in the strait to warn off all other oil tankers from entering The Gulf?

Asymmetric warfare of course! Spread the mayhem so widely the West will not have the resources to contain it.

It's the day after Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian military honchos are gathered in President Rouhani's office. He speaks:
"So, fill me in, gentleman. First, the Strait?"
"We sank a couple of Arab tankers there, sir. And mined the entire passage."
"Good job. And infrastructure along the Arabic shoreline?"
"Totally wasted. But there's a problem."
"A problem?"
"Yes. the Ayatollah called us in earlier. Seems that he's been getting calls from the Arabs. They're pissed."
"Why? Didn't you explain that this was really an attack on the Great Satan?"
"Of course. But he didn't buy it. And the Revolutionary Guards are waiting outside for you."

Do you mean after they have sunk one or two oil tankers in the strait to warn off all other oil tankers from entering The Gulf?

Asymmetric warfare of course! Spread the mayhem so widely the West will not have the resources to contain it.

It's the day after Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian military honchos are gathered in President Rouhani's office. He speaks:
"So, fill me in, gentleman. First, the Strait?"
"We sank a couple of Arab tankers there, sir. And mined the entire passage."
"Good job. And infrastructure along the Arabic shoreline?"
"Totally wasted. But there's a problem."
"A problem?"
"Yes. the Ayatollah called us in earlier. Seems that he's been getting calls from the Arabs. They're pissed."
"Why? Didn't you explain that this was really an attack on the Great Satan?"
"Of course. But he didn't buy it. And the Revolutionary Guards are waiting outside for you."

In another forum I'm on, someone was talking about the U.S. occupying Iran, and I basically said it doesn't matter what one thinks of that, because the U.S. would never succeed at invading Iran in the first place to get far enough to have that problem.

The U.S. military has already bitten off more than it can chew. To add a major active adversary to that, whether Iran, Venezuela, or anyone else, would be insane.

Steve, in your opinion; in the case of Iran, does Trump realise that he is playing with fire?

No. But there seem to have been a number of U.S policymakers over the years who have underestimated the challenge of subduing Iran militarily.

Writer, technologist, educator, gadfly.
President of New World University: http://newworld.ac